Antique, eclectic seating

When I was laid up with mono for several months, I spent a lot of time thinking about how I wanted to live when I finally got healthy. I made lots of lists, and one of them was what I hoped to someday do in a place of my own. One of those ideas was to have a bench as part of my dining room seating.

Amazingly in just over a year I got an apartment with a dining room, found a table I loved that didn't come with chairs, and had the budget to buy seating. My brother just moved into an off-campus apartment, so he needed the table and chairs I had been using (which had been in our parents' first place, and belonged to our grandparents before that). I hit craigslist with a vengeance, looking for sturdy seating that would somehow fit the style of my old house and semi-modern teak table.

I found this amazing school bench from the 1900s. It's in great condition, considering its age, and the wood is absolutely beautiful. The seat folds up for easy transport, which is increasingly important to me as I think about how I'll ever get all this stuff out if I move. I paid $65, which seems like kind of a lot, but it's a beautiful, unique piece that I'm confident I can resell if I need to move and can't take it with me.

The bench is just a few inches shorter than the table, so people can slide off it without having to move the whole bench away from the table. It fits up to four people but doesn't feel lonely with one or two, which gives me a lot of flexibility in hosting. It also avoids the awkwardness of working around the table legs, which limit the number of chairs I can fit on each side.

I had also hoped to find mismatched but similarly shaped old wood chairs that I could paint teal. In a fit of idealism I set my budget at $7 a chair. After months of searching craigslist and all the local thrift stores I realized that no one going to give away solid wood chairs for $7, and I upped my budget to $20 each. 

Finally I saw a craigslist ad for three semi-matching antique oak chairs at $25 a pop. By the time I called the owner he had lower the price to $20. I really like the backs of the chairs and their curved legs. They're all different, but share the same general lines. The slight curves mimic the curves of the bench, which I love. The wood is in such great condition that I've decided not to paint them. I think another bright color would be a little too much in that room anyway.

When I picked up the chairs, the owner told me I had read the ad wrong and it was $20 total. I still can't believe he gave up three gorgeous antique chairs for less than $7 each (matching my original budget!). They do need a little work on the seats, but the wood is in great condition and there are so many little details that I couldn't find on modern chairs. Just look at the clawfoot legs!

I'm so, so happy with the way my dining room looks and functions now. It feels like the right blend of modern, traditional, and quirky, with plenty of character.

Have you tried blending styles in a room? How did it turn out?